Business inventories in US rose in November

Wire Service

Bloomberg News

Inventories in the U.S. rose in November at the same pace as a month earlier as companies kept stockpiles in line with improving demand.

The value of goods on hand increased 0.3 percent for a second month, a report from the Commerce Department in Washington showed today. The figure matched the median projection in a Bloomberg survey. Sales at factories, wholesalers and retailers jumped 1 percent after falling 0.3 percent.

Companies had enough merchandise on hand to last 1.28 months in November, unchanged from October, as they waited for signs of a pickup in holiday-season demand along with resolution of the budget debate in Washington. Another report today showed retail sales climbed more than forecast in December as consumers bought more cars and furniture.

"It might be the fiscal cliff and uncertainty about this year" that limited stockpiling, Mike Englund, chief economist at Action Economics LLC in Boulder, Colorado, said before the report. "Retailers might have in fact been surprised by strengthened sales right at the end of the month."

Estimates of 44 economists in the Bloomberg survey ranged from increases of 0.2 percent to 0.6 percent.

Among other reports, the Commerce Department said retail purchases increased 0.5 percent last month after a 0.4 percent gain in November that was more than initially reported.

The Federal Reserve Bank of New York said its general economic index fell to minus 7.8 in January, showing manufacturing in the region shrank for a sixth month. A reading of zero is the dividing line between expansion and contraction.

The producer price index dropped 0.2 percent in December, the third straight decline, after falling 0.8 percent in November, the Labor Department reported today. For all of 2012, prices paid by companies climbed 1.3 percent, the smallest advance since a drop in 2008 and compared with an average 3.4 percent gain over the prior decade.

Retailer inventories, released today for the first time, increased 0.3 percent in November, matching the gain in sales.

Wholesale inventories, which account for about 30 percent of all business stockpiles, rose 0.6 percent in November. Factory inventories, which comprise about 38 percent of the total, were little changed for a second month in November.

Other reports show companies have been paring inventories. The Institute for Supply Management's figures on U.S. manufacturing showed a gauge of factory stockpiles fell in December to 43, a three-year low, from 45 the prior month, the Tempe, Arizona-based group reported Jan. 2. A gauge of customer stockpiles rose to 47 from 42.5. Readings below 50 indicate that inventories are contracting.

Some of the gain in inventories may reflect goods made overseas. Imports increased 3.8 percent in November to $231.3 billion, the most since April, the Commerce Department reported last week. Purchases of foreign-made autos and parts climbed by $1.51 billion and orders for mobile phones jumped by $1.81 billion, the report showed.

Business inventories in US rose in November

Wire Service

Bloomberg News

Inventories in the U.S. rose in November at the same pace as a month earlier as companies kept stockpiles in line with improving demand.

The value of goods on hand increased 0.3 percent for a second month, a report from the Commerce Department in Washington showed today. The figure matched the median projection in a Bloomberg survey. Sales at factories, wholesalers and retailers jumped 1 percent after falling 0.3 percent.

Companies had enough merchandise on hand to last 1.28 months in November, unchanged from October, as they waited for signs of a pickup in holiday-season demand along with resolution of the budget debate in Washington. Another report today showed retail sales climbed more than forecast in December as consumers bought more cars and furniture.

"It might be the fiscal cliff and uncertainty about this year" that limited stockpiling, Mike Englund, chief economist at Action Economics LLC in Boulder, Colorado, said before the report. "Retailers might have in fact been surprised by strengthened sales right at the end of the month."

Estimates of 44 economists in the Bloomberg survey ranged from increases of 0.2 percent to 0.6 percent.

Among other reports, the Commerce Department said retail purchases increased 0.5 percent last month after a 0.4 percent gain in November that was more than initially reported.

The Federal Reserve Bank of New York said its general economic index fell to minus 7.8 in January, showing manufacturing in the region shrank for a sixth month. A reading of zero is the dividing line between expansion and contraction.

The producer price index dropped 0.2 percent in December, the third straight decline, after falling 0.8 percent in November, the Labor Department reported today. For all of 2012, prices paid by companies climbed 1.3 percent, the smallest advance since a drop in 2008 and compared with an average 3.4 percent gain over the prior decade.

Retailer inventories, released today for the first time, increased 0.3 percent in November, matching the gain in sales.

Wholesale inventories, which account for about 30 percent of all business stockpiles, rose 0.6 percent in November. Factory inventories, which comprise about 38 percent of the total, were little changed for a second month in November.

Other reports show companies have been paring inventories. The Institute for Supply Management's figures on U.S. manufacturing showed a gauge of factory stockpiles fell in December to 43, a three-year low, from 45 the prior month, the Tempe, Arizona-based group reported Jan. 2. A gauge of customer stockpiles rose to 47 from 42.5. Readings below 50 indicate that inventories are contracting.

Some of the gain in inventories may reflect goods made overseas. Imports increased 3.8 percent in November to $231.3 billion, the most since April, the Commerce Department reported last week. Purchases of foreign-made autos and parts climbed by $1.51 billion and orders for mobile phones jumped by $1.81 billion, the report showed.